STEVE TANNEN Football, Track Graduated: 1966 Inducted: 2023

Steve Tannen was the first Southwest athlete to be honored as Dade County High School Athlete of the Year, when the Miami Herald tabbed him for the award in 1966. He was also named the Herald's Track Athlete of the Year that season after finishing second in the state in decathlon. At the Florida relays his senior year, Steve was chosen the outstanding high school athlete after competing in the high hurdles, pole vault, high jump and the 440 relay. His school records in the 220-yard dash and the 120-yard hurdles were still in existence when those events were discontinued for metric distances. In 2007, 41 years after he graduated from high school, the FHSAA recognized him as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football. Steve went on to become a first team All-American defensive back at the University of Florida where he is a member of the UF Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2006, the sportswriters of The Gainesville Sun chose him as No. 15 among the 100 greatest players from the first 100 years of Gators football. Steve became the first Eagle to play in the NFL after being drafted in the first round by the New York Jets. He retired after a five-year pro career.